June 23, 2010

The case reopened in January 2009. Detectives interviewed the woman but determined there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.

In a transcript of the interview, the massage therapist said she was doing requested abdominal work on Mr. Gore when he demanded she go lower.

“I was shocked and I did not massage beyond what is considered a safe, nonsexual area of the abdomen,” she said. “He further insisted and acted angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud.

”I went into much deeper shock as I realized it appeared he was demanding sexual favors or sexual behaviors.”

She alleged he later tried to have sex with her.

“I did not immediately call the police as I feared being made into a public spectacle and my reputation being destroyed,” she said. “I was not sure what to tell them and was concerned my story would not be believed since there was no DNA evidence from a completed act of rape.”

There are so many questions. How credible is this woman? Women can lie, but if we reject them reflexively, it means that men can always get away with this crime, which occurs in private. What did the police say to her that discouraged her? Why is she coming forward now? Was she offered money/favors to back off or is she pressing forward for money now? Gore is a billionaire. If Gore really did what she said, does it suggest that he's had other massages and developed a modus operandi of requesting abdominal work, etc. etc. Is the abdomen a normal part of a legitimate massage? I've had a lot of full body massages in my time, and the abdomen was never included. But I am a woman. Maybe it's normal for a man. Or do you have to make a special request? Like Al's abs could be really knotted up from too many crunches. Look at him. How could he need abdominal work? As opposed to abdominal play. But, of course, the argument from his side has to be that the woman is lying. How awful this all is? And what of poor Tipper? Could this have something to do with the marriage breakup?

Well, let's just treat it like Kobe and everyone else and assume she's telling the truth on this. After all, ManBearPig is 1/2 man. That makes him automatically 1/2 rapist, right? Or so my feminist friends have always maintained.

GOP accused: the appearance of something wrong is enough. And a wymyn must be believed. Always.

Dem accused: where’s the clear & convincing evidence? It’s “he said, she said” & a man is innocent ‘til proven guilty under our Constitution. And anyway we have proof that she’s a naughty lady & so she was trying to shake a celebrity down. And, anyway, again, you know that you can’t rely on FAUX News.

Why can't AlGore do things right like Spitzer could. Hitting on a real masseuse is so entitlement oriented. If she was not charging several hundred dollars,then she obviously was not a prostitute faking massage service. How hard was that for AlGore to figure out. I know that there is no controlling legal authority for Prince Gore.

I can't help but think of Charles Foster Kane in that "love nest" with the "singer," and Mrs. Kane and the lawyer showing up. Was that what happened with Tipper? And Al Gore got his headline, too. Not that it matters much these days, newspapers not being what they once was.

Al Gore is looking (& acting) more and more like Charlie Kane every day.

I think that is has to do with the marriage break up to the extent that maybe *now* people will believe her.

Quite honestly, they wouldn't have before. If she talked to the cops they probably told her so, with sadness, but none-the-less.

(I sort of figure that a massage therapist gets enough suggestive remarks that she or he will be unlikely to be shocked by them but have a practiced reply and refusal. "Your belly massage goes down to here, Mr. Gore, no lower. That would be unprofessional. Now turn over and let me do an attitude... I mean... spinal adjustment."

Women can lie, but if we reject them reflexively, it means that men can always get away with this crime, which occurs in private.

Even if any of this true, I didn't know it was a crime to ask your massage therapist to "go lower". Even if he asked her to have sex, that's not a crime either. Remember the Duke Lacrosse National Tragedy? We mustn't jump to any conclusions!

It's just that most folks don't have the cajones to be such effin hypocrites as Mr. Gore.

I said it once, I'll say it again, Jesus hated hypocrites. And if that preacher shows up with his patented purple prose proposing otherwise, well, I've got 19 quotes from Scripture all at the ready here, provin' my point, not that Al Gore would know what we're arguin' about.

Global warming outta be the least kinda warming Al Gore should personally worry about, considering his age and peaked condition. Instead of gettin' up in the morning, he looks more & more like he's exhumed.

OTOH, if the massage therapist is so nervous and full of hero worship that she's fluttery scatterminded she might very well be alarmed and shocked by a proposal to take advantage of her schoolgirl giddiness.

And as much as I hate to say it, if she's acting all breathy and amazed at his wonderful presence, he can be excused for thinking she's interested, at least initially.

I don't have much difficulty believing Al Gore has assistants dumb enough to order a masseuse when they were suppposed to order a hooker, nor do I have difficulty believing Gore is dumb enough to fail to realize she really is just a masseuse.

As much as I detest The Creator of the Internet, The Grand Guru of Gaia, The Carbon Czar himself, I don't believe this woman at all. Also, as an ex-masseuse myself, the only abdominal area worth working was the obliques and I very rarely get that request. Plus you need to know how to manipulate that part of the body that is not really reinforced with bone to support it from underneath.

I never think of my genitalia as part of my abdomen, and maybe Gore doesn't either.

In general, if you want a "happy ending" you go to a place known to offer them. You don't go for a therapeutic massage and indicate "Lower, Lower." *deep voice* "How 'bout this, honey?"

If Gore really wanted her to touch his peepee and she balked, why would he try to have sex with her? How did he try it? She needs to flesh out this part of the story with details to add verisimilitude.

"Hey, Synova, did you ever act all breathy and amazed at some guy's wonderful presence?

I didn't think so."

Heck, no. Which is why all the "I was shocked" stuff and claims of not catching on and then being even more "shocked" seemed sort of... odd.

But he's the Goracle, right? And while I think he's completely repulsive physically and am not the least bit impressed with his importance in the world or his Gaia priesthood, that's not the case for everyone, is it?

It's the only thing that makes sense to me to explain not catching on that he's being suggestive.

Well, at a glance I appear to be the only person here who (a) dislikes Al Gore and (b) thinks this story sounds like a giant load of horseshit.

(1): A massage therapist is so shocked at being *propositioned* for sex that she goes to the cops. Say what? How'd she last two days on the job? Massage therapists touch nearly-naked men for a living. They get propositioned for sex more often than female bartenders do.

(2): For that matter, goes to the cops for what? Because a man "tried to have sex with her"? Holy shit, that's illegal now?

(3): This "shocked" woman pauses to hire a lawyer so he can do the actual talking to the police. Uh huh.

(4): The "shock" is so great that the woman won't talk to the cops and waits years to actually file charges. Bear in mind that she wasn't actually raped or assaulted -- just propositioned.

(5): No civil or criminal case is pursued (what would the supposed crime/damages be, anyway). Instead, the story goes to the Enquirer, i.e. to an outlet that pays for stories.

Sure, it could be true. Any accusation COULD be true. But this story stinks to high heaven and it isn't even consistent with what we know of Al Gore.

Rev -- I agree with you that it's a sketchy story. Al Gore knows how to get pay-for pussy if he wants it without stooping to this. I'm sure most people agree with you as well, but the story is just too rich not to try an attempt at humor.

Also, apropos of not much, in my experience, there is an inverse relationship between attractiveness and ability to give a massage. If you want a good massage, go to a frumpy, fat weirdo. Close your eyes and enjoy.

Here's the 73-page transcript of the tape recording of the police interrogation of the masseuse: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2010-06/3056/36280/Gore_reports.pdf

What the interrogation describes--true or not--goes well beyond "Mr. Stone" (the pseudonym Gore initially used) asking politely for sex. The masseuse's later reluctance to pursue the complaint or hand over her slacks stained with Gore's DNA stalled the investigation, but the police from the Sexual Assault Detail were willing to take the case further. At a minimum, the police were able to establish that she had been in his suite.

And Tipper is far from "poor". She is every bit as delusional as Al, but neither of them should be called "poor". Pathetic, bloated, narcissistic, borderline, spoiled, out of touch, sure, but not poor.

isn't it interesting that the immediate and now fairly long term assumption is that someone strayed and second it was the man.

This will re-visit some of the Tiger Woods allegations (most true and that is a given) where if he did all the messing around that was alleged he wouldn't have had the strength or time to swing a golf club.

And with Al, geeeze he couldn't sneak around anywhere without being spotted (or harpooned).

Reportedly Al Gore said to her, “it is an inconvenient truth that I have an erection.”

I don’t know if it is true, but I do know its hilarious.

More seriously, at the moment there is no “there” there. Maybe she is telling the truth, but without more than her word, the tie goes to Gore. Although this line isn’t exactly a denial: “A spokeswoman for Mr. Gore, Kalee Kreider, said he had no comment.” I mean, I am sorry, but if I was innocent, I would want the word to go out that I am innocent.

But a few points.

First, is this normal in the hotel business? To send women to give massages to male guests in a private setting? Isn’t that just BEGGING for a sexual harassment case? Or is it possibly that the hotel is expecting its therapists to do it voluntarily. Speaking of...

Second, the tags on this post are a little off. You put a sexual harassment tag on that. But its also something else: solicitation of prostitution. At least if you believe the account.

Third, this story actually broke in the national enquirer. But the interesting thing is that unlike the Edwards story, this one broke and was pretty quickly picked up by the NYT. Why? A few thoughts:

1) the evidence is clearer. She did talk to the police. There are records of this. I mean there is a piece of paper you can copy and distribute. It doesn’t prove that al gore did anything, but it proves its not just a figment of a reporter’s imagination.2) Tipper actually in some way benefits from the news. It turns her into a wronged wife in a divorce case. by comparison the Edwards thing would have been a humiliation to a dying woman.3) It sheds light on a mystery. I have been pretty hard in these threads on the idea of amicable divorce, the notion that you should hate each other a little before you divorce.

Its also interesting that while it appears that the woman intended to break the story, its not clear that she has actually broken it. in fact, I don’t believe anyone can quote her making any statement to the press—only the police.

Finally, I wonder if this is going to go down as the first crack in the dam? Like the tiger woods thing, the next thing you know, you will be hearing from massage therapists all over the place who got this request. Now if they agreed to it, then they might be really reluctant to step forward, but… it will be interesting to watch.

I read the 70+ page transcript of her statement....the level of detail is telling and believable. She clearly indicates throughout why she did not want to come forward. I would suggest one read it before commenting.

Coming on the heels of the big split announcement, albeit several years later, adds a little more credibility to her claim.

The fact that Algae is a complete fraud regarding AGW seals the deal for me.

I think you had to wonder when he and Tipper announced the divorce if anything about infidelity would come out.

As for the actual complaint, I’m not clear on what he is supposed to have done that was illegal. Is propositioning a masseuse illegal simply because of the ties with prostitution? Is she saying he took it too far in some way? I’m really not sure.

The single overriding fact in this sorry episode is that the laws are different for the uber-rich as compared to the proles swirling at their feet.

Whatever the motivations of the masseuse she was right to be worried about the outcome of her intrusion into his orbit. Gore undoubtedly believed that the only payment the masseuse was entitled to was being baptized by his billionaire seed.

Remember the too-numerous-to-count peccadilloes of the Kennedys? John Edwards self-absortpion, etc?

Power corrupts as easily as wealth. The democratic machine will spring into action and bring down hell-on-earth to women who get in their way. Note the attacks on Palin, Haley, Palin's daughter and any female with the temerity to stand up to the party of misogynists.

I read the whole transcript and here’s a few things that leapt out at me.

She first reported this in 2006. Then only in 2009 does she sit down and have a long discussion with the cops. And I mean long. Much of it is her just reading a prepared statement, which is a little off putting. Its not determinative, but its odd in my book, and I would like to hear her explain what was going on with her, logically.

I found her claim that inappropriate requests rarely happen to be a bit questionable. I’m not saying she is wrong, but I tend to think guys are more pervy than that.

She says she has no DNA evidence. But she also said that when she came home there were stains on her slacks, which she thought might have been from Al, um, being on top of her (but her being clothed at the time). So what happened with the pants. Did she get them tested. What did the tests show? That might answer all of it.

She did call a friend at the time.

It was much more than a pass. He grabbed her hand and guided it to the area. he constantly touched her body in a sexual manner. At one point he pinned her down, and held her there. I don’t know the classification of crimes in Oregon, but that is usually sexual assault but not usually rape. But maybe depending on the exact wording to the statute.

And this, I am sorry, is comedy gold, especially if true: “This is what's been really hard with this. Urn, because I, I, you know, I live in ‘The Birkenstock Tribe’ and it's like being the ultimate traitor. And by the by, there are people urn, one who is so black and white Left wing, she ceased talking to me. Another one who was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world's going to be destroyed from global warming. And I was like, these are women. I'm like, where is the feminist in you? What the hell? This is not okay.”

Anyway, do I believe her? I still say tie goes to the runner. But nothing in her story is facially ridiculous.

And one more thing. Gore’s people are not denying it. now she clearly indicated he was drinking and might have been drunk. Is it possible that Al does this sort of thing a lot, but can’t trust his own memory in regard to this incident?

Sorry but when you wait a few years afterward to report bad behavior from someone then you have as much credibility as hdhouse has intelligence.

She's full of it and if not, sorry honey but last time I checked, being boorish ain't a crime, yet at least until the left really has their way in creating the police state to regulate behavior they seem to desire.

And by the by, there are people urn, one who is so black and white Left wing, she ceased talking to me. Another one who was basically asking me to just suck it up, otherwise the world's going to be destroyed from global warming. And I was like, these are women. I'm like, where is the feminist in you? What the hell? This is not okay.”

I agree with the skepticism expressed overall, but that part I have absolutely no problem believing. After watching the so called feminists' reaction to Bill Clinton (one free grope), I am quite sure that liberal "feminists" are absolutely willing to sacrifice any women to their "causes."

They are also likely to hero-worship people (virtually always men) in such a way that they convince themselves that one person, who never even practices what he preaches, is solely able to save the world from global warming and what not.

The fact that she was a die-hard liberal and was able to see this makes me a lot more willing to believe her. They never see it unless it happens to them.

Al Gore, if you believe her, was not just being boorish. He shoved her down and climbed on top of her, held her down against her will and possibly even ejaculated. That is assault and battery at the very least, if not also sexual assault, or maybe even rape depending on how those crimes are codified in Oregon.

Now, if you say she is not credible, well fair enough. But it absolutely a crime, if he did it. That is not even a reasonably debatable point.

The only debatable point is if she is to be believed, and yeah, I am skeptical, but I don’t know.

Lyssa

Actually I 100% agree. The take one for the team attitude is frighteningly real. Bill Clinton personally set back sexual harassment law by about 20 years.

Al Gore, if you believe her, was not just being boorish. He shoved her down and climbed on top of her, held her down against her will and possibly even ejaculated. That is assault and battery at the very least, if not also sexual assault, or maybe even rape depending on how those crimes are codified in Oregon.

I didn't read the transcript so I was going on the Professor's post where she said he just wanted her to 'rub lower' and propositioned her. Yeah if he did throw her down and tried to mount her it's assault and battery at the very least. Then it begs the question why it wasn't pursued and prosecuted?

I have zero love or respect for Gore but I also get real skeptical of years later reports of being abused sorry but thats the way I am. There are too many cases of some schlub whose life is destroyed because some floozy leveled an unprovable accusation on him.

1) The woman is telling the truth. I suppose it is possible to make up that much detail but it strikes me as hard to do. Absent evidence to the contrary, I'm going to believe her.

2) Contrary to what Ann said, it was quite a bit more than propositioning. Not sure whether it meets the legal criteria for attempted rape but it sounds close. Especially the parts about him tongue kissing her and throwing her onto the bed.

3) She does not seem like a prude. She has had sexual propositions before and seems to know how to deal with them professionally. I would be surprised if all her massage training would not have included some lectures on how to deal with inappropriate requests from clients.

4) I can understand why she would be scared to file a formal complaint against a person so powerful (or perceived as so powerful) as Gore. She feared being charged with soliciting and, absent a witness, who would be more likely to be believed in a court?

5) How did Enquirer get this story? Did the woman come forward? Is she getting paid for her story? I am unclear on how and why this is coming up now. I can see the possibility of someone in the police dept finding the file, figuring it looked interesting and selling it to the Enquirer.

It will be interesting to see what the stains on the pants turn out to be. I kind of doubt semen but I suppose it is possible.

People can make stuff up, even with alot of detail. i mean there are entire novels, you know?

I thought the detail sounded convincing, but I think she was reading from a prepared statement, so she would have had a lot of time to flesh it out ahead of time, if she had wanted to. Actually, throughout the entire thing, I was kind of thinking of fan-fic. Something tells me that if you scrub the internets hard enough, you'd find some similar stories, wholely imaginary, about similar public figures.

BTW, I tend to agree with Hooiser, basically, that if you wait too long, you sort of miss your chance to complain. (I feel similarly dismissive about that woman who says Bill Clinton raped her in the '70's. And remember those women who accussed Arnold Schw. of harassment when he ran for gov?) Although I can understand why she would have been reluctant to, given the power disparity, she was right to know that she would be smeared.

Also, someone upthread asked if this is standard- lone woman massaging man in hotel room. I don't know, but I wouldn't do it. I mean, even my female gyn has to have a nurse in the room to keep an eye on things during the exam. I don't think I'm paranoid, but I don't enter secluded spaces alone with a man I don't know. That just strikes me as common sense.

oh, and i just wiki'ed another detail. al gore tried to woo her with Pink's song "dear mr. president." i checked. it was not released as a single, yet, but the album it came from was. So it was very possible for Gore to know about it and have a copy on his ipod. indeed, you have to think that if someone made an anti-bush song, they would pass it to gore, just cause of who he is, etc.

She was clearly reading from a statement. She indicates somewhere in there, around the 30 page mark or something. Which is I guess more believable than claiming she remembered all that...

It would be interesting to search for a phrase there and see if it pops up on a fan fic site.

And certainly waiting harms the claim. That’s exactly why we have a statute of limitations. But then again, if she has his stain preserved, that’s another matter. I think it all depends on that. If there is no dna, but it is clearly from a man, I would lean in her favor. If there is DNA, and it’s al’s, fuggetaboutit.

Also, I was the guy who asked upthread if it was normal to be one-on-one. Yeah, it does seem needlessly dangerous. If I was a woman and I worked in that industry, I would put a hidden camera in my purse, just in case. and I would have mace, or a gun. And when I say mace, I don’t mean the spray but the medieval weapon. ;-)

Anyone who voted for Gore or Edwards should not be permitted to ever vote again.

What the hey? 2000 and 2004 were definitely "Pick the lesser of two evils" years. I couldn't figure out why W. had such a lock on the GOP nomination from 1999 on, but then when he rolled back tax rates on the rich my question was answered.

I have zero love or respect for Gore but I also get real skeptical of years later reports of being abused sorry but thats the way I am. There are too many cases of some schlub whose life is destroyed because some floozy leveled an unprovable accusation on him.

I think the problem here is that when things like this happen in private, they are generally unprovable accusations, period. True or False. I agree that a few years later you can’t really prosecute anything. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, especially if she did report it at the time and it just wasn’t prosecuted. Most women don’t bring charges on stuff like that (partly because they immediately get called some "floozy" if they do).

Not saying I believe her, I really have no idea. But neither does anybody else.

"What the hey? 2000 and 2004 were definitely "Pick the lesser of two evils" years. I couldn't figure out why W. had such a lock on the GOP nomination from 1999 on, but then when he rolled back tax rates on the rich my question was answered."

How anyone could think Gore or Edwards the lesser of two evils is beyond me. Compared to those two, Bush is a genius. There were moron lefties voting for Edwards in the 2008 primary. Obama isn't left enough for them. Mind boggling.

Bush, Gore, and Kerry were all mediocrities in every way. Only gun nuts ("The NRA will have an office in the West Wing" -- Kayne Robinson), or people in the highest tax bracket had any reason to vote for Bush.

Bush, Gore, and Kerry were all mediocrities in every way. Only gun nuts ("The NRA will have an office in the West Wing" -- Kayne Robinson), or people in the highest tax bracket had any reason to vote for Bush.

Neat to know that, as a college student living off of a min. wage p/t job at the university who had never even touched a gun in her life, I was either in the highest tax bracket or a gun nut.

What the hey? 2000 and 2004 were definitely "Pick the lesser of two evils" years. I couldn't figure out why W. had such a lock on the GOP nomination from 1999 on, but then when he rolled back tax rates on the rich my question was answered.

I solely blame the current status of our political state on the feet of Al Gore and his behavior and those of his nefarious cohorts in 2000. The fucker lost Florida by 537, he couldn't take it and pitched a fit like the fat little bitch that he is. Anyone who supports this fucker for 2000 is as foul and as corrupt as he really is.

Bush, Gore, and Kerry were all mediocrities in every way. Only gun nuts ("The NRA will have an office in the West Wing" -- Kayne Robinson), or people in the highest tax bracket had any reason to vote for Bush.

Thanks for putting on display why you are nothing but a stealthy dumbfuck. I'm neither a gun nut (I own one), nor an NRA member, nor in the highest tax bracket, but I voted for Bush happily, not once, but twice. Outside of Reagan, it was the best vote I've ever made and history will bear that out and already is. Idiots like you fail to see what is presented before them and given the circumstances, it's easy for morons like you to constantly criticize that with which you disagree with because your surface fluff, shallow thinking always kicks in with nonsensical argument ploys like the equivalency argument for why the three choices above are all mediocre while neglecting the entire campaign filtering process to get you those three to begin with.

You and your ilk had every opportunity to put whoever you wanted against Bush and you failed. Twice. So just fuck off with your perpetual whining. It's gotten tiresome.

isn't it amazing how such a stupid, stupid man was able to dupe so many people?

Shades of Alvin Greene!

Lyssa -- in 2000, what about W. appealed to you, and what made him more appealing than John McCain? To me, John McCain rev. 2000 was far and away the most appealing candidate. Too bad about the rumors that he had sired a pickaninny out of wedlock.

I am a licensed massage therapist and yes, there is such a thing as abdominal massage. I was taught it as part of a full one hour Swedish massage routine, but a lot of people don't like it or don't want it, so a lot of therapists only do it when requested. Thus, a lot of clients don't even know it's an option. It can relieve constipation and other digestive difficulties.